How to get from Mashhad to Ashgabat?

To get from Iran to Uzbekistan, one has to pass through Turkmenistan. Even though the most direct route is going east from Mashhad and then north via Mary, I like to visit the Turkmenistatn capital Ashgabat as well.

What transport options do I have? What is the best border crossing for this?

Best Answer

Wikitravel has a section on how to get there from Iran:

To get to Ashgabat from Mashhad, it seems like the simplest option is:

Take a bus to Quchan: every 2 hours from 6.30AM. Cost: 8000 rial. Duration: 2h30.

From Quchan, take a private taxi to Bajgiran (village at the border). Cost: 60,000 rial for 2, or less if you can. Duration: about 1h.

At Bajgiran, go to the border (opening time: 7.30 - 15.30 Iran time). Crossing the border can take up to 2 hours. Turkmen police will ask for an entry tax of $10 (per person) + $2 of bank fees (per group), to be paid in US dollars only.

In the Turkmenistan side, take a taxi to Ashgabat, which can cost up to $15 per person. Duration: about 1h.

So total time will be about 6-7 hours, depending probably mostly on how your border crossing goes, and how long the private taxi takes to fill up (you usually rent a seat in the taxi).